Obama reiterates call for settlement freeze after meeting Abbas

Date: 29 / 05 / 2009  Time:  01:07
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

US President Barack Obama again pressed Israel to halt construction of the illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, following a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday in Washington.

Obama said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “each side has obligations under the Road Map. On the Israeli side those obligations include stopping settlements.”

Sitting alongside Abbas at a White House news conference, Obama also said that he was confident Israel would eventually accept the two-state solution, language rejected by the current Israeli government led by Netanyahu, who visited the US last week.

“I’m confident that if Israel looks long term, at its long-term strategic interests, it will recognize a two-state solution,” said Obama.

By standing his ground on settlements, although in milder terms than his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did on Wednesday, Obama was responding to Israel in what has become a political tug of war over settlements.

Obama also said that he called on Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which holds power only in limited areas of the West Bank, to take steps to stop attacks and even verbal incitement against Israel.

The US leader also raised the issue of Palestine’s internal political divide.

“President Abbas I think has been under enormous pressure to bring about some kind of unity government and to negotiate with Hamas,” he said, saying he was “impressed” with Abbas’ efforts to ensure that “any unity government recognize the principles of the Quartet” and recognize Israel.

Hamas earlier downplayed the Washington meeting. Fawzi Barhoum, the Gaza-based spokesperson of the Islamic movement, said the summit would result only in “more pressure on Abbas ... to make more compromises on Palestinian rights and requirements."

For his part Abbas said that he was seeking peace negotiations under the auspices of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. He said that if Israel withdrew from territory it occupied in 1967, “these [Arab and Muslim] countries will be ready to normalize relations with Israel.”

The issue of settlements was also raised in a State Department press briefing in Washington earlier on Thursday, in which reporters asked for a response to Israel’s continued insistence on expansion.

State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly said, “I’ll let the Secretary’s [Clinton’s ] words speak for themselves. I mean, she said very clearly that in order for this process to move forward – the President has said this, too – the settlements must stop. I mean, that’s – it just couldn't be more clear.”

On Friday, the Palestine Liberation Organization's top negotiator said he was optimistic about prospects for peace with Israel following Obama's remarks in Washington on Thursday.

The official, PLO Negotiations Affairs Department chief Dr. Saeb Erekat, said that Palestinians and Americans have a common interest in achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.